1. Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses a high capacity, high speed coin dispensing assembly capable of ejecting coins or tokens of a disk like form from a hopper containing bulk loose coins and in particular a low coefficient of friction surface for sloping walls of the hopper to promote the transport of the coins.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of coin ejecting devices have been used in vending machines, gaming machines, arcade games, etc. Generally, at least one storage or hopper tank is provided with an opening at the top for receiving bulk coins and an exit opening for introducing the coins into a coin segregating and dispensing member so that individual coins can be removed from the hopper and dispensed at a high speed. Coins used in this field include not only monetary coins, but medals, tokens, medallions and other usually circular disk components that represent a unit of value to the user. For example, tokens can be dispensed on arcade games to be redeemed for additional rides and prizes, while actual monetary coins are frequently dispensed in slot machines in a gaming environment.
An example of one form of a coin dispensing device can be seen in Japanese laid open patent publication no. 8-110960. Referring specifically to FIGS. 9-11, a coin dispensing device 10 contains a cylindrical hopper tank 11 with an open mouth for receiving either an individual or bulk supply of coins. Mounted adjacent the bottom of a cylindrical hopper tank 11 is a coin delivery mechanism 12 that can be driven by a electric motor 16 through a speed reduction gear assembly 17 so that an output shaft 18 will rotate a coin feed disk member 14. The driving motor 16 and the speed reduction gear assembly 17 are fixed to an inclined base 15 as shown in FIG. 11. A guard plate 19 extends partly over the lower portion of the hopper tank 11 in order to partially cover the coin feed disk 14 to prevent a clogging of coins. The guard plate 19 also constitutes a sloping portion 19A and can be fixed within the hopper tank 11 by a hinge 20. The guard plate 19 can be rotated from an upper to a lower position in FIG. 10 to permit surface access to the coin feed disk 14. The guard plate 19 can be molded of a resin material and as seen in FIG. 11 provides a exit opening 21 to permit the passage of coin C to be able to reach the coin feed disk 14.
The coin feed disk 14 will have a plurality of coin receiving holes that are dimensioned to receive the coins to be dispensed. The coin receiving holes are usually formed in a outer peripheral portion of the disk 14 at fixed intervals. A coin C that passes through the opening 21 will enter a coin receiving hole and then subsequently with the rotation of the coin feed disk 14 can be discharged through a slot to the outside of mechanism. The guard plate 19 prevents a jamming of an excess of coins which could occur if the entire bulk of coins bear against the surface of the coin feed disk 14. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the hopper tank 11 has an upper rectangular portion 11U and a lower cylindrical portion 11L with an intermediate slopping portion 11M. The hopper tank 11 basically proceeds from a larger upper opening area to progressively become smaller to accommodate the transportation of coins to the coin feed disk 14. As shown in FIG. 10, a bracket division or portion 19F can contact the slope 11R of the intermediate 11M portion of the hopper. These dimensions are designed to prevent obstructions of the stored coins as they progress within the hopper. The bracket portion 19F provides a fixed distance between the tip 19T of the guard plate 19 and the slope 11F of the intermediate portion 11M of the hopper. The hopper tank 11 can be formed of a plastic resin.
As shown in FIG. 11, a coin transport carrier 22 which can constitute a belt can deliver coins that have been deposited within the machine for storage within the hopper tank 11. The coin C is delivered by a gravity feed and the slopes of the intermediate portion of the hopper 11M are designed to facilitate movements of the coin C to the coin delivery disk 14. Coins that have been stored in bulk on sloped portions for example, of 11E and 11F permit a gravity feed of the coins to the exit opening 21. Referring for example to FIG. 10, an opening 23 can be provided on a slope 11F of the hopper tank 11 to permit coin observation or detection. Additionally, electrodes 24A and 24B can also project within the hopper tank to determine the level of fill of bulk coins within the hopper. The design of the hopper surface is an attempt to align the coin as it extends through the opening 21 with coin receiving holes in the coin feed disk 14. The exit opening 21 assists in this alignment procedure, but as shown in FIG. 11, can create a problem in that coins can be jammed in the exit opening 21 to create a blockage which is sometimes referred to as a bridge phenomena in this industry. When the bridge phenomena arises, the coins can not reach the coin feed disk 14 and consequently, coins cannot be dispensed. This renders the machine inoperative and requires service.
It has been found that when the hopper tank 11 is made of resin, that a clogging problem arising from the bridge phenomena can occur approximately once out of every 20,000 coins being delivered. As the dispensing speed of coins is increased in this industry, this creates a problem that can be expensive because of the maintenance labor cost and down time of the machine.
There have been various attempts to prevent clogging within hoppers such as providing agitators that will rotate at the bottom of a hopper tank and thereby agitate the coins C. Such an agitation can address the problem of bridge phenomena. The cost of adding an additional agitator member increases the overall cost of the coin dispensing apparatus, removes some storage space, and adds an additional moving part that can be subject to mechanical failure.
Thus, there is still a demand in the prior art to try and improve the dispensing of coins in bulk from a hopper in an economical and efficient manner.
The present inventions provides a coin dispensing hopper assembly that can store and dispense coins in bulk by a gravity feed of the coins to a coin feed mechanism that can segregate and dispense individual coins. The hopper assembly includes hopper walls having a sloping downward configuration to enable a gravity feed of the coins. At least one wall surface will be provided with a low friction structure for contacting the coins as they move toward the coin feed mechanism.
In one embodiment of the invention, a plastic liner member can be fastened to the wall of the hopper assembly by adhesive or two-way tape to provide the low friction wall surface. The plastic liner member can include graphite particles on its surface for contacting the coins with the graphite particles capable of having a Rockwell Hardness substantially higher than that of any metal powder scraped from the coins. A plastic liner member can include a synthetic polyamide material that can be extruded with the graphite particles so that the coefficient of friction of the plastic liner member can be in the range of 0.16 to 0.30. The low friction wall surface can include a plurality of raised protrusions of graphite particles. An alternative embodiment can have a low friction wall surface formed of a stainless steel with dimpled protrusions of a configuration substantially smaller than the coin to thereby provide a transport of the coin body over the substrate surface of the wall.
Thus, the present invention can provide an improved coin dispensing hopper assembly for storing and dispensing coins having walls that slope downward to enable a gravity feed of coins to a coin feed mechanism. The coin feed mechanism can segregate and dispense individual coins. The coins are delivered to the coin feed mechanism by transport across a low friction wall surface. The low friction wall surface can be formed by integral protrusions that can be formed with the formation of the wall surface, or alternatively, by a plastic liner that can include protrusions such as embedded graphite particles of a small scale. As a result of these embodiments, the generation of a bridge phenomena of coins in a hopper tank can be decreased without decreasing the storage capacity of the hopper tank.